Patrons peed off at public toilets

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The 25 automated, self-cleaning public toilets on busy city streets were intended to alleviate cleanliness issues, but they''ve been anything but an automatic like, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The toilets, installed in 1995 by the JCDecaux Company, were supposed to be an advertising venue and to be maintained by the company, the article stated.

According to the article, while the advertising portion works just fine, maintenance and upkeep has been hit or miss.

"I see people waiting in line at the toilet in Civic Center and I tell them just to go to Starbucks," said Dina Hilliard, executive director of the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District.

"You have no idea when that door will open and when it does there will probably be a mess," Hilliard added.

Many feel that when JCDecaux''s contract is up in 2015 that it might be time to take the city''s public restrooms in a different direction, the article noted.